Owner closes Arches eatery

After nearly 90 years in the city, with the likes of the Duke, Bob Hope and Humphrey Bogart stopping in for dinner, the iconic Arches restaurant in Newport Beach has closed its doors for the last time.

Owner Dan Marcheano, who confirmed Tuesday that moving vans have already cleared out the restaurant, claims it’s the city’s fault, and said he considers it an injustice that his restaurant had to close under someone else’s terms.

Newport Beach Planning Director David Lepo, however, says Marcheano either is mistaken or being disingenuous with his claims. Arches could have remained open, Lepo said.

Marcheano, the restaurant’s longtime owner, said he was essentially pushed out because he wants to operate a business that meets city code.

As he contends, the city held back his permit for the last 31 months to operate a full, sit-down bar with eight stools at the restaurant’s newest location, leaving him with no choice but to give up.

The restaurant was formerly at what is now A Restaurant on West Coast Highway.

“I don’t want to have to keep looking over my shoulder. That’s not my style,” Marcheano said.

Lepo said Marcheano’s restaurant had permission to operate the bar since it moved to its new location, 508 29th St., on the Balboa Peninsula. That’s where the men disagree. Marcheano said he was told recently by city officials that he would never get the permit to make the bar legitimate.

“I don’t know where David’s getting that information from. At least someone would give you the permit if you got one. We don’t have any of that,” Marcheano said. “There was no communication.”

The city had other issues with the Arches’ new location, Lepo said, such as when Marcheano enclosed the patio, which technically converts it into restaurant space that requires more parking.

Marcheano said they’ve taken care of that. If it wasn’t the patio or the bar seating, it was something else, Marcheano claimed.

“Now every time you turn around, there’s a new regulation. I know they got a tough job to do, but I got news for you. I have a [good] track record,” Marcheano said. “Do we need a permit to smile? Do we need a permit to giggle? It never effin’ ends.”

Marcheano said even though Arches is gone, he’ll be back with at least one other restaurant in the city. He knows his comments could turn some against him.

“They have a very short memory when you do something good. You do something wrong, they have a very long memory. I never went to City Hall and asked them for anything. If they come for me again this way they better be ready for some legal action,” Marcheano said. “I may be old and I may be overweight, but I’m an old overweight United States Marine. So I love a good fight.”